The apparatus for analysis of environment, for instance, such as air (gas) particle quantity counting and particle size measuring, or liquid/fluid (water) particle/contamination size measuring and quantity counting, or airborne (gas) particle and/or liquid/fluid (water) contamination sampling, or airborne (gas) particle and/or liquid/fluid (water) contamination concentration analysis, and the other (hereinafter such apparatus will be mentioned as an environmental analyzer, and the air, gas, liquid/fluid, water, etc. will be mentioned as environment) is known.
Such apparatus for analysis of environment, providing airborne, gas and/or liquid/fluid, water quality analysis (analysis of environment) generally comprises a particle detecting means and a data (signals, information) processing means, and can be of two kinds: portable or remote. The portable apparatus for analysis of environment commonly is a portable unit including a particle detecting means, processor/controller, display, sometimes printer, and front panel with the organs for manual control, and requires the presence of operator (operator-in-site) for control of the unit on site and print out the results for further consideration. The remote apparatus for analysis of environment mostly uses the long wire (long cable, e.g. 100 yards and longer) connection between remote particle detecting means and central data processing and control unit.
For example, it is well known, that integrated circuits (chips) and semiconductors have been produced in “clean rooms”. The air in such “clean rooms” should be very well cleaned. The continuing tendencies of improvement in the circuit integration and degree of microminiaturization require corresponding improvements of the environment in “clean rooms” and efficiency and sensitivity of the contamination measuring devices. The sensitivity of the counting and measuring devices should provide the detection of the particles/contaminations (hereinafter particles/contaminations will be mentioned as particle) at least as small as 0.085 μm (micron) or smaller. Such rate requires minimum distortions of the signals. Also, the measurements should be done in the different places of the semiconductor production areas and sometimes in the areas with the difficult access and approach. The same is, for instance, regarding the pharmaceutical, biological industries, etc. where the high environmental condition is required too.
It is also known, that all long wire (long cable) connections in electronic apparatus are a source of the electromagnetic noise, which can create interference in the semiconductor production area, and a distortion of the signals, creating an insufficient signal to noise ratio, thereby limiting the sensitivity and efficiency of the environmental analyzers.
Another deficiency of the environmental analyzers with the long cable connection between the remote sensor and the data processing unit is a limited mobility, because of the cable. Therefore, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,983 describes the wireless communicating environmental analyzer able to analyze air, gas and/or liquid/fluid, water, etc. The method, providing wireless communication between at least one of a plurality of remote detecting systems (sensor) and data processing and control system (computer), is realized by an apparatus including a wireless communication means. The apparatus also comprises a remote detecting system comprising a particle detecting system, comprising a particle detecting means connected to a signal processing system, which is connected to a conversion system. Also, the remote detecting system comprises a wireless communication means, including an aerial means connected to a transmitting means and to a receiving means of the transmitting-receiving means. The conversion means of the particle detecting system is connected to the transmitting means and to receiving means. The apparatus by the mentioned above patent also includes the data processing and control system comprising a wireless communication means and processing system, comprising a processing means, a conversion means and a terminal means. The wireless communication means can include an aerial means connected to a transmitting-receiving means. The transmitting-receiving means connected to the conversion means of the processing system. The terminal means can include a displaying means, a floppy disk means, a compact disk means, a printing means and a control panel (for example, a computer's keyboard, communication control device, etc.), which are connected to each other, to the microprocessor means and to the conversion means by a multiplexed bus (a data bus and an address bus /both are not shown/ or any other communication means and principles can be used instead of the multiplexed bus). It is understandable from the described prior art, that the control panel can include devices, instruments, means, etc. providing any and all needed controls of the data processing, displaying of the data and information, analyzing/detecting processes and operation of the remote detecting system(s), and control of communication (remote wirelessly and/or non-wirelessly, etc.) between appropriate means and systems of the apparatus, etc. It is also understandable from the mentioned above patent, that the wireless communication means can be appropriately built-in the remote detecting unit (e.g. sensor) and data processing and control system (e.g. computer, etc.) respectively or the wireless communication means can be appropriately connected to the remote detecting unit and data processing and control system respectively (for example, the wireless communication means can be the adapter-style devices directly connected to the outside connectors of the remote detecting unit and data processing and control system respectively) or can be presented by the adapters (separate devices) connected to the data processing and control system and to remote detecting unit respectively through a short cables (e.g. remote adapter/device, etc.). The wireless communication for the described prior art can be provided in compliance with any wireless principles, for example, such as radio (e.g. digital, FM, telemetering, digital telemetering, etc.), satellite (e.g. Internet), and even voice/sound control, etc. Each of the both major parts of the described apparatus (i.e. data processing and control system, and remote detecting system) can use two-way wireless communication means, each of which includes transmitting-receiving means comprising the transmitting means and receiving means.
The control signal(s), controlling the remote detecting system, from the control panel follow to the processing system. The control signals processed by the processing means, via the conversion means of the processing system follow to the transmitting-receiving means of the wireless communication means. The control signal can provide, for example, possibility to switch “on/off”, to switch “run/stop”, to select and change the particle counting and measuring channels, to provide remote sensor diagnostics, to switch the mode (regime) from particle counting and measuring to concentration determination, to select and change the modes for the particle flow velocity, environmental temperature and/or humidity determination, etc. The signals from the transmitting-receiving means follow to the aerial means. The wireless communication means of the data processing and control system communicates with the wireless communication means of the remote detecting system. The signal(s) received by the aerial means of the wireless communication means of the remote unit follow via the receiving means of the transmitting-receiving means and conversion system of the detecting system to the signal processing system. The processed signals control the detecting means, which, for example, starts to assay environment (hereinafter the assayed environment will be mentioned as assayed specimen), analyze, process the result(s) of the analysis, form data containing information about analyzed environment, etc. The appropriately processed and converted data (information) is transmitted to the data processing and control system for final processing and displaying in the convenient form (e.g. by the displaying means or printed by the printing means, etc.) to the operator for consideration. It is well understandable, that the data can include the information (signals), for instance, regarding battery condition (e.g. “low battery” signal if the battery is presented in the remote detecting system /the power supply of the some remote detecting system can be, for example, provided by alternative current source, etc.), some alarm (warning) signals (e.g. particle concentration warning, hydrogen concentration alarm, etc.), etc.
Thus, there is a great need in the art for the improved method and environment analyzing apparatus to provide more mobility of the control means controlling the wireless communication between the appropriate systems of the environment analyzing apparatus, and to provide the detecting means with the precise flow system for the assayed specimen.